One of the most common questions we hear from veterans at our law firm is: “How do you get an 100 percent VA disability rating?” This article explains how veterans obtain 100% ratings, how to apply, how to appeal, and give some tips and tricks we’ve learned over the years.What does an 100 percent VA disability rating pay monthly?
- Monthly Compensation: Veterans that are eligible for an 100 VA disability rating can receive $2,973.86 monthly from the Veterans Administration. If you have dependent children or parents, you may be eligible for more monthly compensation.
- Household Benefits: Some veterans may be eligible for VA Aid & Attendance veterans disability benefits if they cannot take care of themselves. These benefits help veterans with household duties and even things like transportation.
- Other Benefits: Veterans that obtain a 100 percent VA disability rating may also be eligible for housing, healthcare, education, and other benefits. Many states even offer discounts and other benefits to veterans with an 100 percent VA disability rating.
How do VA disability ratings work?
The amount of money you receive from the Veterans Administration depends on your VA disability rating. If you are approved for VA benefits, the VA will assign you a disability rating. The severity of your impairment will determine the rating the Veterans Administration will assign you. Your service-connected mental conditions and physical conditions will receive a rating between 0-100 in increments of 10 percent.
All of your impairments will be added together using VA math to determine your disability rating. VA math is complicated and it doesn’t make sense to a lot of veterans. If you have two 40 percent impairments, that does not necessarily equal an 80 percent VA disability rating. If you need help understanding your VA disability rating, please contact us for assistance.
Who can get an 100 percent VA disability rating?
Veterans that wish to receive an 100 percent VA disability rating must be eligible by the Veterans Administrations guidelines. Eligibility for VA disability benefits is complicated and often the VA tells eligible veterans that they are not able to receive VA disability benefits. Here is a generalization of VA guidelines:
- Veterans with dishonorable discharges are not eligible for VA disability benefits.
- Veterans must have been considered active-duty.
- Veterans must have a mental or physical impairments that are caused or worsened by military service.
- All branches of the military are eligible: Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard.
- National Guard and Reservists can be eligible if they were activated by the federal government.
What are my chances of getting an 100 percent VA disability rating?
There is no set percentage of veterans that the Veterans Administration must deny or approve. Your chances of getting an 100 percent VA disability rating depend solely upon your own claim’s merits.
You will be approved or denied for VA disability benefits based upon your evidence presented for mental and physical impairments. If you are not treating for a mental or physical impairment, we highly suggest you do so. Presenting evidence is the best way to win your VA disability benefits and obtain a 100 percent rating.
Lots of veterans are applying for VA disability benefits. The Boston Globe reports that 45% of new veterans are applying for disability benefits. “A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimate of 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top government officials said.
I was denied an 100 percent VA disability rating; what now?
Unfortunately, many veterans are denied their VA disability benefits. The good news is your denial is not the end of your claim with the Veterans Administration. If you were denied an 100 percent VA disability rating within the last one year, you may be able to appeal. VA disability appeals are lengthy and complex.
The first thing our VA benefits appeals lawyers suggest you do after a denial is get qualified help. Too often veterans contact our law firm too late in the process and sometimes we can’t help. We regularly get calls from veterans who have already made a mess of their 100 percent VA disability rating appeal.
What you need for a successful VA disability appeal:
- Strong Evidence: We can’t stress how important evidence is to your 100 percent VA disability rating claim. The stronger the evidence, the more likely you will be approved for a 100 percent VA disability rating.
- Evidence of Medical Condition: You should present medical evidence of every condition that is on your claim. You shouldn’t expect the VA to service-connect medical conditions that you can’t prove exist. Provide the VA with sound, relevant medical evidence your conditions.
- Establish Service-Connection: This is why many veteran’s applications fail. Many veterans fail to provide information showing how the injury happened. For example, if you are applying for PTSD benefits, you need to prove a PTSD stressor.
- Nexus Between Service & Condition: Make sure you create a nexus between your mental or physical condition directly to the event that happened in service. You can do this by submitting medical reports from doctors in the form of a VA disability benefits Nexus Letter. You may also want to consider using research, scholarly articles, and scientific data.
FAQ: 100 Percent VA Disability Rating
The difference between a 100 percent VA disability rating and a 90 percent VA rating is over $1,000 a month. The jump from a 90 percent VA rating to a 100 percent VA disability rating is hard to do on the combined ratings table. If you are currently at 90% and want to appeal, make sure you entitled before going through the lengthy appeal process.
If you are having trouble getting a 100 percent VA disability rating, but can’t work, there are other options. Some veterans are going to be eligible to receive Total Disability Individual Unemployability benefits. These benefits pay the same as a 100 percent VA disability rating, but you don’t have to obtain a 100 percent VA disability rating.
Yes. Veterans can receive both 100% VA disability and Social Security Disability benefits at the same time. Remember, each benefit agency has their own eligibility guidelines. You will need to apply separately to each agency for benefits. Being approved or denied one benefit has no bearing on your eligibility for other benefit.
Yes. Veterans are able to obtain a 100% rating for PTSD. If any service-connected mental condition is severe enough, it is eligible for a 100 percent VA disability rating.
If you are initially denied VA benefits but later win your appeal, you will receive a lump sum check from the VA. Your VA benefits retroactive payment may end up being a substantial amount of money. Some retroactive payments cover years of missing benefits.
The VA application and appeals timeline fluctuates. However, it is not uncommon for claims to take years. The appeals process currently takes about 4-5 years. There are ways to expedite VA disability claims, but that won’t always save much time. You are going to need patience throughout the entire process.
If you were given a low-rating, you can file a VA disability rating appeal. The VA hands out low-ratings left and right. Don’t be discouraged because you were given a low-rating, a large number of vets are forced to appeal.
Even if you left the service decades ago, you can still apply for a 100 percent VA disability rating. There is no time limit to file for 100 percent VA disability after leaving the military. Many veterans do not apply for a long time after their service ends and their medical conditions begin.
Many veterans are missing records of their mental and physical impairments. There are ways around missing records and you can still apply for an 100 percent VA disability rating. Our VA disability compensation lawyers have been able to help many veterans that have missing service records. There are many reasons for missing records. Sometimes the Veterans Administration misplaces medical records. Many records were lost in a 1973 St. Louis medical record warehouse fire.
Tips to Obtain an 100 Percent VA Disability Rating
- Expect the unexpected. When you receive your VA Rating Decision letter, be prepared to find some incorrect items. We have seen the VA rate the wrong limbs, forget to rate all conditions, and even add conditions that the veteran didn’t even have. The VA does some pretty goofy stuff when processing VA disability claims.
- Do legal research. There are literally thousands of federal regulations that could affect your VA disability claim for a 100% rating. Go out and look through the CFR 38 where VA disability law is located. Don’t be overwhelmed by the thousands of pages of legal codes – within that text are the keys to winning your claim.
- Consider previous case law. One thing that assists our veterans disability benefits lawyers with winning claims is that we know VA case law. You can research important case law and use it to help bolster your claim.
- Don’t rely solely on free veterans legal services. You know what our thousands of clients all have in common? They were all denied the VA disability benefits ratings they deserved. A large majority of them first relied on free veterans legal services. While most free veterans legal services mean well, we have reviewed thousands of cases that they screwed up.
How do you get an 100 percent VA disability rating? Get help from our lawyers.
Since 1985, Woods & Woods has defended injured and disabled people. Our veterans disability lawyers have helped thousands of veterans and their families. We never charge a penny unless you win your VA disability benefits claim. If you have questions about how to obtain an 100 percent VA disability rating, you can always contact Woods & Woods VA disability lawyers for a free claim evaluation. There is no fee to figure out whether or not you have claim.